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Power Outages
Victoria has the most reliable power supply in Australia. But sometimes power outages do still occur.
Power outages can be caused by severe weather, such as lightning, floods, bushfires or high winds. Trees falling on powerlines, animals, car accidents or digging near underground powerlines can also cause interruptions to power.
The guide to power outages (PDF 150KB) outlines some simple things you can do at home to help prevent power outages and prepare – and how to stay safe during rare occasions when power is lost for a long time.
The most important thing during a power outage is to stay safe. Keep clear of fallen powerlines and keep others away. Be careful with temporary generators. And if there has been significant damage to your property, make sure a licensed electrician checks that it’s safe to turn your power back on.
Related safety information
Energy Safety after Bushfire (Word 95KB)
Using Energy Generators Safely (Word 86KB)
Energy safety after fire and flood (external link)
Energy Safe Victoria (external link)
Food safety during power outages (external link)
For information on power outages in languages other than English, please call 13 61 86.
Who is responsible for restoring power?
Electricity distribution companies are responsible the poles and wires which connect you to power, and are usually responsible for repairing these and restoring power in their areas.
Please see distribution business network map (Word 352KB) to locate your distribution business.
The fault and emergencies telephone number for each of these businesses are listed below. By clicking on the powers suppliers name and link you will be leaving the DPI website.
Powercor - ph.13 2412
Citipower - ph. 13 1280
United Energy - ph. 13 2099
SPAusNet - ph. 13 1799
Jemena - ph. 13 1626
During major or widespread emergencies, Jemena also has an SMS service on 0427 840 744. It allows customers to register fault premise address and contact details for an SMS update.
For information on energy supply emergencies please visit Energy Emergencies.
Reliability of Supply
Victorians expect a reliable supply of energy, and the regulatory framework for electricity and gas distribution businesses (who own the poles and wires, and gas pipelines, in your street) provides clear incentives for these companies to maintain their networks to achieve this.
Gas networks tend to be more reliable than electricity networks because, being underground, they are not as exposed to the elements.
A reliability incentive known as the “S factor” is built into electricity distribution price controls approved by the Essential Services Commission. The S-factor rewards electricity distribution businesses that exceed pre-established reliability targets and penalises businesses that fail to meet their targets.
In addition, individual consumers who experience electricity service disruptions beyond a threshold are entitled to compensation from their distributor. These are known as “Guaranteed Service Level” payments. These payments are payable to consumers experiencing poor reliability. Payments differ depending on the type of outage, as set out in the following table:
Type of outage
| Nature of event(s) | Amount |
| Unplanned sustained interruption | More than 20 hours of unplanned sustainedinterruptions per year | $100 |
| More than 30 hours of unplanned sustained interruptions per year | $150 |
| More than 60 hours of unplanned sustained interruptions per year | $300 |
| Low reliability (unplanned sustained interruptions) | More than 10 unplanned sustained interruptions per year | $100 |
| More than 15 unplanned sustained interruptions per year | $150 |
| More than 30 unplanned sustained interruptions per year | $300 |
| Low reliability (momentary interruptions) | More than 24 momentary interruptions per year | $25 |
| More than 36 momentary interruptions per year | $35 |
| Poor service standards | If a distributor is more than 15 minutes late for an appointment | $20 |
| If a distributor does not supply electricity to a customer's supply address on the day agreed | $50 per day (up to a maximum of $250) |
| If you report a faulty public light which is maintained by your distributor and that public light is not repaired within two business days of being notified, and you are the occupier of the immediately neighbouring residence or business | $10 |
Data from the Essential Services Commission shows that, since the reform of the electricity industry in the 1990s, average supply reliability has trended upwards. The State-wide average for unplanned minutes off supply is now less than 100 minutes per year, compared to around 150 minutes per year in the 1990s.
If you are experiencing problems with your electricity supply such as frequent blackouts, or if you would like to find out when the power will be coming back on, contact your electricity distribution business.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view that PDF attachments via the below links. A free copy can be downloaded from Adobe Acrobat (external link).
Victoria's electricity distribution businesses are divided into five separate supply areas, please see distribution business network map (Word 352KB) to locate your own distribution business.
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